UK investment pools Border to Coast Pensions Partnership and ACCESS have launched new funds for their partner schemes, claiming a combined £4.6bn (€5.4bn) of Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) assets.
Border to Coast, one of the UK’s largest pension pools, has launched its £1.4bn Listed Alternatives Fund, expanding the investment opportunities available to its partner funds, it announced.
The fund provides exposure to renewable energy, digital infrastructure, specialist healthcare, real estate, private equity, and alternative credit.
These sectors, it said, tap into key long-term structural themes. For example, the current portfolio gives investors access to 40GW of wind power and 14GW of solar power to enable the net-zero transition; 160,000 mobile communication towers that look set to benefit from the ongoing digital revolution; and 2,400 healthcare facilities needed to support the ageing global population.
The new fund, which will be internally managed, offers Border to Coast’s partner funds cost-effective access to attractive risk-adjusted returns and inflation protection over the long term, it said.
The partner funds involved as initial investors are East Riding, Durham, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and Surrey.
Ryan Boothroyd, portfolio manager at Border to Coast, said partner funds will have cost-effective access to a broad range of sectors “to support the building of diverse and resilient investment portfolios”.
George Graham, director of South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, said: “The Listed Alternatives Fund is a key addition, providing us with access to public alternative assets, complementing our investments in private markets.”
The fund aims to provide a net total return in excess of the MSCI All Country World Index over a rolling five-year period, with lower aggregate costs than traditional private alternative investments.
ACCESS adds £3.2bn to the LGPS pool
Meanwhile, ACCESS has launched four new sub-funds, adding £3.2bn to the LGPS pool.
The transfer of assets to the four externally managed sub-funds brings the total pooled assets under management within ACCESS to £33.1bn, with £22.2bn managed actively within the LFS Authorised Contractual Scheme (ACS) and a further £10.9bn in passive funds.
The sub-funds, launched in July, October, December 2021 and February 2022, are the LF ACCESS UK Select Fund managed by BlackRock, the LF ACCESS Alpha Opportunities Fund managed by M&G, the LF ACCESS Sterling Investment Grade Credit Fund managed by Fidelity and the LF Global Equity Fund – Macquarie, managed by Macquarie.
ACCESS – a collaboration of 11 LGPS funds – provides each local authority with the opportunity to join any of its 26 actively managed sub-fund strategies via the ACS platform operated by Link Fund Solutions.
Mark Kemp-Gee, chair of the ACCESS joint committee, said, “The addition of these sub-funds enriches the existing range of mandates available to local authorities, demonstrating the strong relationship ACCESS has with Link Fund Solutions and our commitment to providing valuable options to councils as they strive to deliver their members’ needs.”
Earlier this year ACCESS appointed MJ Hudson as implementation adviser for the pooling of illiquid assets, including private equity, infrastructure, private debt and real estate.
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